Review of Orphan (2009) by Laundrysniffer R — 12 Jun 2011

Another solid entry into the kids do the scariest things genre which features some pretty damn cruel psychoing from it's lead Isabelle Fuhrman.

As Esther she is the quiet, artistically gifted child who Peter Sarsgaard and Vera Famiga take a shine to on a Madonna style shopping trip to an orphanage. Already we know something is amiss when the kindly nun has a pursed look on her face. Sure enough, once Esther is within the walls of the family's home things take a turn for the terrifying.

As previously mentioned, Fuhrman is excellent and plays the unhinged child well. Her enormous, black, pool like eyes convey a sense of menace very convincingly. What's the most chilling about Esther though is the lengths she goes to in order the wreak chaos. This is pretty severe stuff and certainly a step beyond what we've seen devil child's do in movies before. Vera Farmiga is also watchable as the mother who no one believes though there are moments when the film tips into melodrama and becomes a bit laughable.

Orphan does have a killer twist up its sleeve which is a real shocker, even if its delivered in a very mundane fashion. This is Orphan's chief problem. It's lazy. The script is extremely slow in the first half of the film, using the same jump scare technique of 'is there someone there?, oh no, there isn't' way too many times. It does pick up for the second part of the movie though when we reach all the revelations and the fact that the twist is a genuine surprise does raise the movie quite a bit.

The film still manages to end on a whimper rather than a bang and though it has succeeded in being an effective and occasionally memorable viewing, there is still a feeling that this is just another creepy kid horror movie.